Commission cuts fishing quotas

The European Commission today (1 August) announced cuts to member states’ fishing quotas for the rest of this year as punishment for overfishing in 2011.

For the first time, the Commission has used a mechanism to punish repeat offenders – raising deductions by 50% for countries that have been repeatedly overfishing the same stocks.

"Nobody should harbour illusions that overfishing will be tolerated,” said Maria Damanaki, the European commissioner for maritime affairs and fisheries. “The rules which exist should apply to all in a systematic and professional manner. Indeed I intend to use deductions to help achieve the main goal of the Common Fisheries Policy: long-term sustainability of Europe's fisheries."

Some stocks that have been overfished do not have a quota. But the Commission is considering taking into account deductions from other stocks in the same geographical area.

Most of the deductions are being taken from Spain, with other cuts affecting Portugal. Deductions are also being taken from fish stocks in Denmark, Germany, Ireland, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands and the UK.